Labor Day can be a sad time in New England. Summer is over, the kids are back in school. Though fall is our prettiest season, we all realize what is coming. Last winter was a bad one where we live. We had over ninety inches of snow, a record for our coastal city. I don’t know anyone who is looking forward to winter this year.

This Labor Day, I began my book tour for the paperback version of The Lace Reader. By the time I return to New England, summer will be long gone. And, while I hate to leave those last few beach days, I am very excited by the idea of visiting new places and making new friends. So, if we haven’t met, and my tour takes me anywhere near you, please consider coming. The bookstores I’m visiting are some of the best. And we always have a lot of fun at these events.

Our first stop on the tour is Seattle. We arrived this afternoon and were given a brief but informative tour of the city. It was raining hard. While we weren’t surprised (isn’t that what it does in Seattle?) we were told that this was unusual. Mist, yes, full on rain is evidently not as common. An hour later, the rain was gone, and the streets were filled with happy people. This seems an almost perfect city.

The hotel we’re staying at is great. It’s right in the middle of the city, we can walk to just about everything. And you have to love a place that asks you upon arrival if you’d care to have a pet sent to your room. We now have a lovely goldfish named Trixie.

Tonight (Tuesday) at 7 PM, we will be at Village Books in Bellingham. If you are in the area, please stop by. Tomorrow we head to San Francisco.

P.S. The back of Trixie's name card notes that she's able to call room service and order food so there's no need for us to feed her. Smart fish.